Kentucky's Health Insurance Exchange Board Will Meet, Rename Exchange

The advisory board tasked with overseeing Kentucky's health insurance exchange is set to have its first meeting Thursday. The 19-member board is made up of public officials, insurance executives, doctors and consumer groups. The agenda is short, focusing mainly on organizational tasks like forming subcommittees. The board is also getting an overview of the exchange from Executive Director Carrie Banahan.

The exchange will offer Kentuckians an online marketplace to compare and buy health plans, and one of the panel's first tasks will be to choose a vendor to help set up the system.

"We’ll be updating the board on our initiatives there, we hope to have a signed contract with that vendor hopefully in the next week or two," says Banahan, adding “You know, right now it’s called the Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange, but we will be renaming it in the next few months as other states are.”

The board will also look at new state regulations that may be necessary for the smooth operation of the exchange